This invention relates to a fluorescent lamp crusher device, and more particularly to an improved, multipurpose such device which has the capability of accepting and crushing a variety of lamps of different types and shapes.
There currently are available in the marketplace prior art fluorescent lamp crushers, such as for example the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,404, U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,497 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,429, each of which is owned by the Assignee of the present application. In addition to including means for filtering out mercury vapors released upon the destruction of fluorescent lamps, these various patents also disclose additional means for preventing leakage of such vapors into the atmosphere, and also means for automatically shutting down the associated crusher machine when the associated filter elements require replacement. However, with further development of the nature of gas or vapor filled lamps, it has become necessary to adapt such prior art machines to accommodate a variety of different types of lamps, such as mercury vapor, sodium pressure, metal haloid lamps, as well as more conventional flood and incandescent lamps. Moreover, since these lamps are now manufactured in a variety of different shapes, it is necessary for lamp crushers of the type described to provide means for accepting and safely crushing various such lamps.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved lamp crusher of the type described which has a variety of differently shaped lamp feed chutes which communicate with the interior of the crusher machine.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved such lamp crusher which is provided with various chute sealing devices which prevent any undesirable gas, vapors or glass particles from being discharged rearwardly in the feed chutes from the interior of the crusher housing.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a machine of the type described which has means for adjustably mounting the machine selectively above one of several waste drums into which crushed glass is discharged.
A further object of this invention is to provide for machines of the type described means for sensing the contents of an associated waste drum into which crushed lamps are disposed, and for automatically shutting down the machine when the contents of the drum reaches a predetermined level.
Still another object of this invention is to provide for a machine of the type described an improved crusher blade design which functions to crush glass into finer, nearly granular size, thereby permitting a large volume of lamps to be destroyed per waste drum.
Other objects of the invention will be apparent hereinafter from the specification and from the recital of the appended claims, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.